More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“Yeah, you’ve got this whole angry little Tinkerbell vibe happening. I dig it.”
Married. I just shrug. “Married for now, maybe.”
I want to know more about Winter Valentine. Like when that divorce is happening.
Leave it to me to attract the one man in the world who seems to be unoffendable. The one man in the world who won’t leave me alone when I feel ready to join Wonder Woman on her women-only island.
I don’t even think he’s listening. He’s just staring at her like she hung the moon. It hurts to see his expression. I hate feeling jealous, but so much of what I see here tonight fills me with that dark, bitter emotion.
“That would be cruel because my self-worth is very tangled up in whether people like me. Being well-liked is my best quality.”
me
She watches every movement so closely, and she listens hard, turning over every snippet of conversation in her head.
“Careful, that one’s got claws,” Cade offers right as Willa shoves a pointy elbow into his ribs. I grin. “That’s okay. I like having my back scratched.”
“Yeah. Sure. If you ever need help, you can give me a call.” She looks momentarily stunned. “Why?” I lift my shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know. Why not?”
There’s something different about Winter, and I’m not ready to say goodbye. There’s a draw I can’t explain. With any other woman I would probably take one look and think too much work, but I’m eager to get to know her better. To figure out what’s underneath that icy exterior.
“I think I like you because you are a heart-stopping, jaw-dropping type of beautiful.”
I want a woman like Winter Hamilton—beautiful, and smart, and sharp-tongued—to look at me and see a future.
The difference is her upheaval led her to being with her childhood crush—the hockey player who treats her like a goddess—and
Willa has adopted the lifestyle. The boots. The jeans. The sparkly belt with her mane of coppery hair blown out and curled like some sort of rodeo Barbie.
“Doctor Hamilton,” I correct, letting steel seep into my voice. The man glances at me, head quirking to the side. “Yes? What about her?” “You keep calling her Winter. But she works here, right? It’s Dr. Hamilton, isn’t it?”
“Winter is nice.” The sentence comes out with more force than intended, more than is appropriate for the situation. But I think I’ve felt protective of that woman since the first night I laid eyes on her.
“I want to know everything, Winter. Every little detail.”
“Sorry. Can you say something so I stop making awkward jokes to fill the silence?”
he’s so me
There’s something profoundly overwhelming about seeing his eyes latch onto hers while her small hand wraps around his finger. “Hi, baby girl,” he murmurs. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Look how beautiful you are.” The sun lights Theo and Vivienne’s faces in the same warm, golden hue. “You look just like your mom.”
All my life, not a single person has prioritized how things might feel for me. And here is this man I barely know, prioritizing me.
“I could fucking bury whoever made you believe you’re as unlovable as you seem to think.”
“Oh, my bad. I didn’t realize you were with someone.” His eyes slice over to mine, busting me. Again. “I’m not. Yet.”
“You’re annoyingly gentlemanlike.”
Sloane and Jasper, who might as well be eating with her on his lap for how close they’re sitting.
“What?” Harvey says over a mouthful of watermelon. “It’s been a couple of hours now. Are we all just gonna keep sitting here pretending Theo isn’t Vivi’s dad? I mean, look at them.”
Sloane is sitting straight across from me, hand on her chest, pretending to be shocked. Bless her. “Thank you,” I mouth to her. She shakes her head and waves me off.
Theo snaps his fingers over the table, drawing his mentor’s attention back to himself. He went from looking amused to downright murderous. “Watch your fucking tone when you’re talking to the mother of my child.”
No chance am I giving up a single moment with this little girl asleep in my arms.
“I’ve always liked Winter. I liked her when you told me stories about her before I met her. I liked her the first time I laid eyes on her at the shitty gas station on the corner of Rosewood and Main. I liked her when she yelled I must have a small dick.” Rhett’s face is a mix of confusion and disbelief. “And I especially like her now. I’m not sad about Vivi. The only thing I’m sad about is not being there for Winter earlier. But that’s my cross to bear. So, if you’re looking for a person to commiserate with about how awful she is, you need to find someone else.”
“I’ll always defend you, Winter.”
When I go inside, it feels like I’m entering the wrong house.
“You’re going to accept my help. And you’re going to like it. You might even thank me for it.”
“I like everything I see. I want you.”
He treats me like I’m perfect. Irresistible. Worthy.
“What’s happening is Miss Independent met the treat-her-like-a-princess guy, and she’s freaking out.”
Based on what happened tonight, she’s not accustomed to people simply liking her for the woman she is. That makes me want to burn the world down around us to right the wrongs people have laid at her feet over the years.
There’s a reverence in the way she touches me, and I’m not ashamed to admit I savor it.
A woman who needs to be held so damn badly. And I’m the lucky one who gets to do it.
Being loved is uncomfortable for her. God, I want to change that, but she’ll be the one to tell me when the time is right.
“You do know you’re in love with that girl, don’t you?”
“Theo loves easily. That’s just his nature. But he doesn’t often love hard. He keeps that part of himself, the one that’s seen loss too, locked up tight where it can’t get hurt. But you, girl? He loves you hard.”
“He said, ‘Mom, I met her.’ And I said, ‘Who?’” Loretta’s lips curve up, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “He said, ‘The woman I’m going to marry one day.’”
I’m grinning like a fool when Winter finally gets to me.
“Maybe I don’t care. Maybe I want to be messy with you forever.”
Jasper has Sloane pressed against him like every person in their vicinity might try to remove her from his grip.
“When I saw you . . . I don’t know. I don’t want to call it love at first sight. Maybe need at first sight? Want at first sight? A connection. It was knowing I’d never get sick of your eyes wandering over my body with that slack-jawed feral look on your face.”
I stride after her. Agitated. Frustrated. And fucking done with Winter Hamilton running from me.
“You know what, Winter?” My voice is low, but it vibrates with an unfamiliar fury. “I am fucking tired. I am tired of you not seeing what I see. Tired of you talking shit about yourself. I am tired of you not realizing what’s right here”—my palm lands heavy on my chest—“right in front of you. What more do I have to fucking do for you to trust me? For you to give me the benefit of the doubt just once!”
“I am not your dad. I am not your ex. I am here doing my best for you. And it seems like the more I give you, the less I get back. Why is that?”
